Harley-Davidson Inc. Thursday announced that it would no longer continue making motorcycles in India - the biggest motorcycle market in the globe - after 10 years of efforts to create a base in the country with more than a billion people.
The American motorcycle builder's withdrawal from India, which includes discontinuing sales and marketing promotions, deals another heavy blow to the country's efforts to entice or keep international companies in the wake of the nation's most deplorable economic turmoil in many years, Bloomberg disclosed.
Industry sources disclosed Harley is seeking to collaborate with a partner to operate its business in India. In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Harley said the move will include the retrenchment of roughly 70 workers as part of its global reorganization scheme for this year.
Harley's decision was made weeks after Japanese car giant Toyota announced it would discontinue its expansion efforts in India because of the country's steep tax requirements. Harley's exit involves $75 million in revamping costs, redundancies and the shutdown of its Bawal manufacturing facility.
The Bawal assembly center was launched in 2011 but Harley has struggled to go head to head with local rival Hero and Japan's Honda. More than 17 million motorcycles and scooters are sold in India every year. While it is more affordable compared to other countries, India has proven to be a difficult market to do business in for most international auto builders.
General Motors stopped its operations in India in 2017 while Ford Motor agreed in 2019 to shift most of its properties into a partnership with Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. after the company struggled for over 20 years to make decent money in the market.
In a statement, Harley-Davidson said the company's actions are aligned with 'The Rewire' which expected to continue through the end of the year, "leading to The Hardwire - a new strategy for 2021-2025 aimed at building desirability for the Harley-Davidson brand," ZeeNews reported.
